weaning enteritis

One of the saddest words a rabbit breeder can hear is enteritis. Weaning enteritis is one of the most common killers of kits. It is when the kit cannot cope with the stress of weaning, which usually results in the kit's death.

Enteritis is primarily connected with stress, which is why almost all instances of enteritis are at weaning age. Weaning is the most stressful part of a rabbit's life. The transition from milk to solid food requires a complete change in gut pH. Some kits just can't handle that change. Some typical symptoms of enteritis are loss of weight, dehydration, decreased appetite, constipation, diarrhea, weakness, and lethargy. Once the symptoms are apparent, it is very hard to reverse them.

The best thing you can do for the kits is minimize stress as much as possible, whether they show symptoms or not. Even the most healthy and robust kit can succumb to enteritis if stressed enough. The number one rule of raising kits is to introduce everything new slowly and gradually. This is why we don't feed treats or greens at this age. They should eat nothing except for pellets and hay. Never switch feeds or add in different feeds. This is again an additional stress that can be too much for the young rabbits to handle. As far as pellets go, always feed a high-quality pellet brand, such as Purina Show, Kings, or Templeton. You want a brand with lots of fiber, as that lessens the risk of enteritis.

ALWAYS feed your litters timothy hay or grass hay. I prefer grass hay as it doesn't have the small seeds of timothy hay that could possibly get caught in their eyes. Hay significantly lessens stress in adult rabbits as well as kits. I always feed my rabbits hay when they are coming home from a show. And I ALWAYS feed kits unlimited hay. You are significantly increasing the risk of weaning enteritis if you do not feed hay.

Many breeders swear by organic rolled oats being fed in small amounts to the kits, saying it dries up runny poop and thus prevents enteritis, but many others claim otherwise. I have never fed rolled oats so I can't really speculate either way. Some people also put probiotics in the water, which many report success with. I have personally never tried.

Never take kits outside of the rabbitry or subject them to extremely frequent handling. This can very easily kill a kit. Always keep the kits in as low-stress an environment as possible. Yes, you should keep handling them. Yes, you can occasionally let them out to play. But try and keep the changes to their environment to a minimum.

Another way you can lessen the risk of weaning enteritis is by making weaning itself a gradual process. First, I remove the mom and put her in a different cage. This usually happens at 6-7 weeks of age in my Hollands, depending on how robust they are, and whether they have healthy poop. Then I leave the kits in the original cage for another week or so before gradually separating them into their own cages at about 8 weeks of age. Even the pet quality kits that I intend to sell usually stick around with me until 9 weeks old, just so that I am certain that they are fully recovered from weaning.

What are some of your tips on how to prevent enteritis in kits? Tell us below in the comments section!